Matriarchs of the New World
“Matriarchy is a hidden river, rising to bring balance in a broken world”. These words, from my actual real life hero, Gina, stir something deep within my bloodlines. Gina, the 52 year old woman who didn’t just survive ten weeks solo in the Tasmanian wilderness for “Alone”, she did it with HEART.
She did with the depth of attunement and the power of a woman who takes her place in the wild. Knowing she is not here to overcome her environment, but to connect with it. One creature amongst many, listening with her deep intuitive waters. With the fierceness and care of a mother who has walked through the fiery gateways of birthing a child and of losing a child.
“I’ve inspired young people, and especially young women, to reject stereotypes and challenge status quos. To kick off the shackles of a patriarchal culture and listen to the deeper wisdom encoded in their wombs. That there is a world beyond social media, a messy paradise of dirt and sunrises and the smell of fire smoke and trust in one’s hands and heart and the deep growl of instinct.” (Gina)
There is an ancient river rising. Quiet, steady and unstoppable. The rise of Modern Matriarchy is a Returning. To a way of being that honors the Earth, the Waters and the cycles of Nature. This hidden river flows through the hearts of all who are reclaiming their power, not through domination and control, but through Care, Compassion and Connection.
Matriarchy: Power With, not Power Over
Matriarchy is not anti-men. Nor is it not about shifting the narrative to ‘Now the women should be in charge!” (though this isn’t the worst idea!). There are just as many men carrying the scars from “Feminism” as there are women carrying the wounds from “The Patriarchy”. And while these systems served a purpose, they didn’t totally serve the whole.
Matriarchy is a shift away from the whole model of “Power-Over”. Matriarchy is about ‘Power- With”. When we are in our feminine energy (regardless of gender), we are living with the understanding that we are all connected. Women by nature, work together to lift each other up. “Together we rise!”
Matriarchy puts the feminine principles of interdependence and care for community at the center. It is the weaving of circular community systems and valuing the intrinsic worth of every individual within the balance of the whole. Matriarchy Consciousness is, by design, the same thing as Unity Consciousness; Because the way of the feminine is to co-operate and co-create, always with the wisdom that we are tugging and weaving at delicate threads within an intricate web of life!
The Oldest Living Cultures
Most of the oldest living cultures on Earth are Matrilineal, including Australia’s First Nations. “Matriarchy understands what is needed for healthy culture, from belly to bone” (Gina). In many Matrilineal communities, the men that are in leadership positions are elected by a council of Grandmothers, who have the wisdom and discernment to decide who is most trusted to lead.
In these cultures it is understood that women are the backbone of the community, holding the heart of the village. It is mothers who first teach their boys what being held and safe feels like, and these boys then become men who are good protectors. In these cultures, women are truly honoured as “Life-Givers” for the tribe and Motherhood is given the highest value that it so deeply deserves.
Honouring Birth & Death as Sacred Rites of Passage
Matriarchy is about putting birth back in the hands of women! Honoring birth as a Sacred Rite of Passage, rather than a battle against a patriarchal medical system. It is also about treating Elders with the reverence they deserve as “Wisdom-Keepers” for the community. Remembering death as a Sacred Rite of Passage, rather than a medicalised process of anesthesia.
Matriarchy is “being-with” feeling, rather than overpowering feeling with doing... Being-with the pain of Birth and being-with the pain of Death. Because anyone who has been through an initiation knows that pain is the part that teaches us Courage, Power, Wisdom and a sense of Kinship. All the qualities needed to mend this broken world.
Reconnecting with Ancient Wisdom
So how do we remember and bring this Matriarchal wisdom forward into our Modern world?
We remember by gathering with people and working with our hands. We remember by weaving fibers, pounding herbs with stones, getting dirt under our fingernails and blood into our pores. We remember by gathering at rivers and feeling how our bodies naturally start to move in the ways that our ancestors used to. We remember by jumping across rocks and tending to fires.
The wisdom of our ancestors is flowing through our blood always, it is alive in our waters just waiting to be accessed. Our bodies remember and then our hearts follow, with stories. Flowing from hearts to hands, the stories of passion and pain bind us together as A People.
In the oldest cultures, the people would bake bread together, literally kneading the living culture within the dough with their hands as they would share stories and wisdom. They baked the bread in ancient ovens that have remained lit for generations. Some of these ovens still burn today, echoing with the warmth of those hearts that shared a culture of connectedness.
Women Leading with Attunement
As women, we create this change by leading from a place of deep receptivity and intuitive wisdom. This looks like: Taking our time, slowing things down, claiming the space that is needed for us to listen for the answers. This feels like: Following our own internal frequencies and not abandoning ourselves for others. We do this through nourishment, stillness and rest. Through keeping our internal waters full so that we are no longer operating from wells of depletion.
We do this, by “doing life” TOGETHER...Chopping veges together, brewing big pots of soup, scooping up eachothers kids when they are crying. We do this by creating ritual and ceremony in our daily lives; Praying with the waters, singing to the fires.
Join the WOVEN movement
We are woven. And when we come together, we create a magical net that supports and uplifts one another. We are an ancient river, a powerful force that can shape rocks when it is moving as one body. We are vessels for creation and we are carrying within us all the wisdom needed for new life to grow.
I invite you to join the **WOVEN Women’s Movement**, where we remember, restore, and reweave sacred connections. We gather in circles and weave with our hands. We invite Elders to share in the weaving of stories and wisdom. We reawaken the ritual, creating baskets to hold our dreams and baskets that help us to let go. We work with the seasons and the cycles of Moon.
We take our place. Each woman finding her own golden thread and weaving it back in. The Matriarchs of the New world. If you feel the call to join us. Sign up for the WOVEN Movement at [laraheartwaters.com.au].